Hello, Bruce Banner here. It’s been a while since I have had a chance to hang around and enjoy a Dolphins win. In fact the last time I really remember being happy about the Dolphins was on January 9, 2000. That was the day that Dan Marino led a come from behind 20-17 win in the AFC wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks. It would be Dan Marino’s last come from behind victory but it was great to see. Then there was the next weekend when the Dolphins went on to get destroyed by the Jacksonville Jaguars 62-7. I don’t really remember much about that game. I remember waking up the next morning with my TV smashed. The remote in pieces, giant holes in the wall, the cat hiding from me, my neighbors refusing to talk to me and my pants and shirt all being ripped ripped and torn to pieces but barely covering my you know whats. I just had a feeling like I was run over by a freight train.

Ever since that Sunday in 2000 against Jacksonville I don’t remember much about any Dolphin game but for I remember waking up in similar manner. However, this Monday morning I woke up, my clothes were not torn, my cat wasn’t afraid of me, my neighbor said high to me and Scarlet Johansson was in bed next to me. But most importantly I remember in vivid detail the last 4 weeks of Miami Dolphins football. Monday mornings sure feel good again but I am trying to figure out what is different. Why are these last few Mondays so much better than what they have been?

Well one thing is for certain is that the Dolphins have been playing some good football. I have seen the Dolphins string together 4 consecutive wins for the first time since they won 5 in a row in 2008. What is even better about that is that each one of those games has been fun to watch. There were so many times in the past 17 years where the Dolphins won but they would be boring games. Right now I am watching this kid they call the J-Train run amok against NFL defenses. He wears down his opponents and then as the game rolls on he starts to break off the chunk yards. I am watching Ryan Tannehill emerge as a more complete QB who is capable of leading his team in big moments such as the 2 minute drill at the end of the 1st half against Pittsburgh, or the 64 yard scoring strike to put the dagger in the Bills and seal the win for us or such as the 56 yard strike after we just lost the lead late in the game on the road against the Chargers. I am watching an offensive line that has been much maligned for years knock people off the ball and keep their QB up right, all led by an improbable rookie who has an affinity for gas masks. I am watching a team that finds non traditional ways to score when they are down like a big special teams return for the win against the Jets or big interception return for the win against the Chargers. Most importantly I am seeing a young coach grow into a leader by exerting his will on his players and by holding the players accountable for what they do on and off the field. Yes Mondays feel good again.

So how long will these good Monday mornings last? I don’t know but I intend to bask in the radiant sunlight as long as I can before some giant green guy shows up and wrecks the place again. Banner out.

Our D line was so good yesterday, they were non stop. River’s made some plays but it was made very difficult for him by our front.The penalties sucked and we allowed them to keep too many drives alive because of it. But the picks, sure a lot were bad throws but they were bad throws because of the pressure we were getting up front.

They are like jealous or something. Everything you do to the right one, the left one immediately DEMANDS the same treatment. And vice versa, back and forth, back and forth, it’s like they just crave attention 24/7.

Well I do NOT recommend trying to match cheap to cheap; much safer to just go ahead and always combine high quality whiskey with what ever grade of women you have on hand.
It’s Pascal’s Wager all over again.

LOL @ naples. yeah boobs can be like that. that is why i make the sacrifice for man kind to be the man that is willing to give boobage 24/7 attention. no no no, no need to thank me for making that sacrifice for all you guys, it was why i was put on this earth so you men dont have to suffer with 24/7 boob attention, it is my honor and duty

Hulk, you need to do Mike E’s babes too lol. I just read about Alex Smith. Tannehil is already beyond that guy even though that’s all I ever expected him to be. Good job finally getting the OL we needed even if the last part was pure luck. Good job from Tannehill to keep working at his game. Time to pull out the 17-12 victory dance this week. Tim, are your guys ready to dance?

I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem like it’s the type of injury that a week is going to make a difference. If he has ligament damage in his wrist, he’s either going to try and play through it, or he’s done for the season.

Nice job ken. I also feel good about this team and coaching staff. They seem to get it a lot more than the philbin bunch. I don’t see us making the playoffs this year but I think we’ll win more than we lose. That’s a huge step up.

The Dolphins are soaring in the power rankings everywhere, and rightfully so. The Dolphins apparently started the Steelers demise, and the Jets too, maybe even the Bills as well. They’re playing winning football, and it’s a good formula. I think if they can stay healthy, it’s sustainable.

“However, this Monday morning I woke up, my clothes were not torn, my cat wasn’t afraid of me, my neighbor said high to me and Scarlet Johansson was in bed next to me. But most importantly I remember in vivid detail the last 4 weeks of Miami Dolphins football.”

Good to see Dr. Banner back (even if thinking that might be the kiss of death for the team), but who was that sitting next to me when we were down 10-3? If that wasn’t the Hulk then Dr. Banner is not as mild mannered as I thought. 🙂

And great write, as always. Hard too follow with all those big words and long sentences though.

Wow. The Dolphins’ defense came out of nowhere to deliver four fourth-quarter takeaways to an offense in need Sunday. Don’t misunderstand: Miami’s offense wasn’t awful. The Chargers contained Jay Ajayi, while Adam Gase’s game plan did not call for Ryan Tannehill to air it out. That’s why Kiko Alonso’s long interception return for a touchdown ultimately decided the outcome. Maybe people aren’t buying into Miami right now, but a team that can run the football and force turnovers always has a chance in December/January, when the competition and weather get rougher.
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CBS (Prisco) –13

They are just two games out of first place in the AFC East. Can you believe it?

DE Cameron Wake recorded five more QB hurries and two sacks and continues to see his playing time increase week-to-week. For the season, he’s graded as the fourth-best edge defender in pass rushing with a grade of 87.3.
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Apparently Wake is not willing to go silently into the the peed-edge-rusher good night. And the guy takes care of his body like Zach did.

I’d rather face Goff as well. He may be more talented than Keenum, but he’s going to have a lot to process, and he’s probably going to make a few wrong reads, and not recognize where the pressure is coming from.

Ross is happy, I’m happy and the rest of you can make up your own minds…..even if wonder what OD is thinking these days about our owner.

Will note though that mellow Ross also subtly threw most of his former coaches and GMs under the bus.
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“I have the right guy now. I have the guy I wanted. Adam has already changed the culture of the Miami Dolphins. The organization is working well together now. That’s the first time that’s happened. Everybody is on the same page for the first time.”

Agreed facing Goff is the better matchup because he’ll have butterflies, our DL is balling and we’re now starting to throw in more schematic looks on defense because they’re coming together as a group. It’s not great, but it’s been pretty good. I don’t think it will be an easy game for Goff. If I was an objective betting man I’m taking the Dolphins with the spread.

The Rams are a good rush defense though they don’t have a lot of sacks (16) but they do pressure the QB. They’re solid against the run but not dominant.

On offense they’re not particularly good anywhere even with Gurley who’s had a dud season so far.

Not that it always matters but we’re better than the Rams. I’ve seen them a few times this year now and they are not better than us anywhere. It’s even in some areas but we have the edge in others. This game will come down to turnovers. If we don’t have them I think we beat them by 10 at the least.

Facing a rookie QB can be hit or miss imo. They have a tendency to play out of their minds, especially when defenses don’t have a lot of film on them and cannot game plan around them. On the flip side, Fisher is a conservative coach so I doubt he will pull out the fun bag (and no, I’m not talking about Scarlett’s boobs) like you would see Rex Ryan pull on us. I really hope our D-Line gives Goff a nice welcoming to the NFL. I think Fisher is an idiot and throwing him to the wolves against one of the top D-Lines in the game. Wake and Suh may rip his head off.

Jared Goff will make his first NFL start at quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, in front of a home crowd this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the team announced Tuesday.

Jared Goff will make his last NFL start of the season at quarterback for the Los Angleles Rams, in front of a home crowd this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, Cameron Wake & Ndamukong Suh announce moments later.

We have to stop the run and let Goff beat us. I bet their oline is gonna play really good to give Goff as much help as possible. We’ll see but I’m more worried about this game than everyone else. I think this is a game we can easily lose.

All the arguing about is this photo shopped…answer is yes, and not very well, they didnt even blend the skin color. Tits that have a better tan tone than the skin that isn’t clothed most the time…come on man. I get it, doesn’t matter to most guys, so to go along with your statement Piggy, yeah if you slap these tits on your hamster, it will be just as big a winner!

Boulder its kinda how the stock market fluctuates when you elect a new president (and yes it always drops a little right after an election, not a Trump abnormality as the media would have you believe). This kind of reaction is due to uncertainty more so than really thinking it will be a positive or negative change. The fact it didnt flip the thing around that big, basically going from them edging us out in a close game to us edging them out in a close game says to me they dont feel Goff will be any worse than Keenum, he just desnt have the degree of certainty as Keenum. Also means that the odds makers think this is going to be a slug fest with both team being limited by big play ability and needing ground game to grind out a win. They initially had us losing by home field avantage probability, so throw inability to predict the QB play for bad or good, now we have a little more stable team than them. Id bet if you got feedback on what they think score will be its probably something like 7-6 lol, and with these defenses, that might be right. I kinda think ST’s play and turnover differential really does win it for us because they, like us are pretty similar on both sides of the ball.

Suh has possibly had his best year ever this year. Its a little different from the years in detroit but he has just dominated over there. He was doing this even very early on but without the LB play, which has definately gotten better, it was hard to see the effect. Its becoming really clear right now. Its hard sometimes to evaluate the trench play, its just ot flashy, it doesnt jump out at you on either side.

Problem with Suh is on every play there are so many guys in the middle that its hard if not impossible to pick him out and actually see him take someone out and we rarely hear his name called even by the analyst.
Oh well, I was glad to have him last season as well.

Suh has been having an excellent season. I don’t know if he is worth the 20 million but he is playing well. He does draw lots of off sides penalties but that is part of the way he plays he is so aggressive and so quick of the line that I think you just have to accept that he will get some of those but it is worth it for the amount of interior pressure that he generates.

Boulder, from that still shot I would have to say he was in. You can see the bottom of his shoe so he is on his toe or ball of his foot and from the position of his foot the ball of his foot is in bounds the heel is off the ground, he is in bounds

He does draw lots of off sides penalties but that is part of the way he plays he is so aggressive and so quick of the line that I think you just have to accept that he will get some of those but it is worth it for the amount of interior pressure that he generates.

Ken he also draws a lot of fall starts from the offense of lineman in front of him I was one of the guys screaming that he wasn’t worth it and it was a big mistake but I am glad he is on the team now in root for him (is it root or route?)

There isn’t much bad that can be said about Tannehill now. He appears to have taken a step in the right direction. I want him to keep slinging it like he’s been and keep up moving in the pocket the way he has been lately.Good stuff..

The AFC W won’t look as good when they finish playing each other. DEN & KAN still have to play each other twice and OAK once. OAK has DEN, KAN, & SAN to go.
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That’s what I’m hoping, they beat each other up, and we sneak in!

I didn’t mean sneak in like that, but right now they’re 2 games ahead of us, so if they beat each other up, and we take care of our business, we can get in. If you read my last Ask Mike, I have us going 11-5.

I think a big key to this season so far is they’re asking Tannehill to do less. He’s averaging about 7 fewer pass attempts a game this season. We’re more balanced and not relying on him to make plays to win games. We’re still a mediocre team that’s been eking out wins against some of the worst teams in the league. But, we’re making strides towards being a more complete and competitive team. We’re winning games we used to lose. I hope we continue to get better when the competition gets better.

I don’t think there will be any sneaking in right now we are two games back from the AFC West teams and New England. If we continue to win and New England loses one more game it will come down to us kicking the doors in the final game of the year

I am not thinking any playoff scenarios now. Just keep winning and playing good ball is all I want to see. I think making the playoffs is highly unlikely. We could well end up 10-6 and still not make the playoffs.

Suh is really not playing any different than he ever has. He’s elite….possibly the best in the league. He just tends to go rogue from time to time and expose other guys. You just gotta trust that he plays disciplined enough not to hurt you too bad because on the other end he can make big stops all by himself.

Randy — undisciplined he is (and not talking penalties there), but at the same time he takes up two guys in the middle of the O-line. To me, that in of itself makes him a difference-maker. Pretty sure Wake don’t mind at least.

Your 9:26PM comment, although Phelon gave you a pass with “Fair enough”, isn’t fair at all!

Our first win on this win streak was Pittsburgh, who everyone thought was a SB contender, and why not, they were 4-1, and playing at a very high level. Keep in mind the Dolphins knocked Ben out of the game, and he hasn’t been the same since.

Then we faced the 4-1 Bills who were on fire in their own right, having won 4 in a row, and were also 4-1, and we beat them.

Now the Jets I can give you, although coming into that game, the Jets had won 2 in a row, and were 3-5, but certainly not a “good team”.

Then we went out west, to face a decent Chargers team in their house, fresh off putting up 43 points on the Titans, and the Chargers were 4-5.

The rest of your statement is accurate, with a little negative slant to Tannehill, which I can deal with. It’s nice to have a balanced attack, and he has played well, especially late in games, so it’s not just the J-Train. 🙂

I agree. It seems like 10 wins won’t be enough this year for playoffs. So we can win 10 wins and miss playoffs like the Jets did last year. I just hope next year we won’t have a season like the Jets are having right now.

we’ve played really well
and I think that is the bottom line
ST mistakes and penalties have really kept the last 2 games close
but we still one those games

The Steelers and Bills games were both lopsided victories in our favor
and when you look at the teams left on our schedule:
Rams, Cards, Ravens, 49ers and each of the division foes again
I think the early part of our schedule was the hardest part
the competition really is not going to get better

the 2 games on the road against division foes in Dec jump out as tougher games for us to win
they aren’t good teams
but those games are never easy wins

winning out
and even the playoffs is an uphill climb
probably not going to happen

but more importantly – we are playing well and building something

we are actually finally good at something
and that has been lacking on this team for a long time

I’m less concerned about the final record and making the playoffs
and more concerned about playing well and building something

and I think we are playing very well against the best competition we are going to face

Is there another team in the NFL than can claim to have played Patriots and Seahawks on the road. Those are legit super bowl contenders and we played both down to the wire

I say this with respect to Randy – he just doesn’t want to get his head in the clouds as usual. But I think the assessment was dead wrong, the schedule doesn’t get harder and we aren’t squeaking out wins, we are imposing our will on teams.

Piggy, I’m so psyched that our offense has become what it has where RT is not in shotgun all day having to make all the plays. I’ve been hoping for this since he’s been here. I always felt he would flourish in a balanced offense throwing in the 25-32 range as opposed to 35 and up and it’s working. 🙂

I hear people calling RT a game manager now and I think its wrong
if the running game is working – less passes don’t make a guy a game manager
we are not turning Tannehill into Dilfer
Dilfer is unique to a great Ravens defense

but if you look at winnign QBs like Wilson, Flacco, Manning in 2015, Tom Brady won 3 Super Bowls before passing for 4k yards, 2007 Eli Manning

there are a lot of underwhelming passing stats

Tannehill is on pace for close to 3800 yards
He’s not a game manager

its not a drew brees/aaron rogers kind of offense
but those offenses aren’t generally very successful

I agree with you. This is how I look at it, right or wrong.
When it is 3rd and long do you put it in the hands of the defense by running a conservative play, or do you put it in the hands of the QB to make a play, or an explosive play to keep the ball.

MikeE,
I disagree, but I’m okay with people having hope and feeling good about the team. It’s nice to even be in a position where we see some hope. I think we’ll still end up around 8-8 + or – a game. If we do better than that, great! Aside from Pittsburgh…who was missing a lot of starters…we haven’t beaten anybody I would consider a good team. Wins are wins, but when you’re trying to predict or assess the quality of a team, you gotta also assess the quality of the opponent. As I said a couple days ago. The combined records of the team’s we’ve beaten is like 15-33. I just hope we continue to get better and build from here.
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I wasn’t trying to slight Tannehill…just stating how things have changed…and the impact that has had on our level of success. It’s something I’ve been commenting on for years, so I’m consistent. This isn’t something new I just threw out there now. We needed to deemphasize the passing game and emphasis the running game. We did that, and we’re more successful. Tannehill could very well end the season with around 20 TDs and 15 INTs. That’s caretaker, average QB….and that’s fine if it ends in wins. If tanneholics wanna take that as a negative…so be it. Everyone has their entrenched opinion about him, and arguing about it is pointless….but good for the blog. Lol

I watched Goff against Utah last year. Utah loves to disguise coverages until the last possible second, zone/man coverage mix, and generally tries to confuse QBs as much as possible. Goff threw 6 INTs that day and really struggled reading coverage. Some of the techniques Joseph used last week against SD should be really effective against Goff. Don’t underestimate the kid though. He made some of the best throws I’ve seen in a while during that game too.

I made the same point yesterday. As this defense becomes more comfortable playing together you can see VJ adding more to their plate. We baited Rivers who is a seasoned top vet QB into at least two of those 4th qtr picks.

I think there is a good chance we dominate the Rams. I don’t think they’re that good.

Bottle up Gurley and don’t let him get to the 2nd level too many times and we can control him. He doesn’t look particularly quick but he can gain speed in the open field and then use his power. Austin is the guy we have to key on. I think we have the corners to contest Britt’s size. The Rams defense is solid, nothing special, I don’t care what their ranking is. I’ve seem them play quite a bit because I have Gurley on my FF team and they’ve been on TV a few times so it was convenient.

Goff isn’t really a RPO type QB that can hurt us with his legs if the initial read isn’t there. As long as we take away the running game he’s going to struggle. If I were LA I would run the ball as much as possible and mix in some play action passes to test our weak secondary, but I’d definitely go heavy and not spread the field. They need to protect him as much as possible. If we can score 17 points I think it’s a win.

The Rams OL isn’t very good. They struggle running the ball and they’re not so good in pass pro either. I love this matchup. I think our defense dominates their offense and we score on their defense setup by turnovers, STs and a couple of nice drives.

I’m way more confident in this game than the SD game. A loss to the Rams would bum me out even though it’s not an AFC matchup. We’re better than them.

sawSo how on this team might go to the Pro Bowl based on so far even with what might happen? Just saw a Phinsider’s list of who might. Will list with my thoughts (an not thinking about if others after others back out). Anyone else?

At 5-4 there is no such thing as a trap game. If a team is focused on the job at hand there are no trap games. That’s for teams who are like 10-1 looking past a bottom feeding team on the road and looking to next week against the other conference powerhouse. The trap game thing gets used too often just like guru. LOL

So this talk about the teams we have beaten, that somehow because they have losing records it’s not as validating I guess is what is being said. Am I to take from that it’s better to lose a close one to a ‘quality’ team than win over a lesser team?

My son is going to be in from college this weekend, so I want to spend some time with him, so I’m going to pass on Slatterys this Sunday. I will try and make it this year, so we’ll try and find another date.

I don’t want to discuss this in depth, because one of the ASK MIKE questions I received asked about this. Regardless, how can any of our games be a trap game? We don’t have the luxury of taking any game lightly, which is precisely what a trap game infers, no?

I will just start being positive. It’s easier. But, if we lose 3 in a row, I don’t wanna hear how terrible this team is…like everyone was saying 3 weeks ago. Pick an opinion and stick with it dammit. Lol

Well Pittsburgh was 4-1 before us. we must have knocked them into next year.
Buffalo was on a 4 game tear until us, I even heard they beat the Patsies.
SD and NY are still NFL teams so I say to HELL with the Naysayers!
FINS ROCK!!!

This team is focused and united. I’ve always put a higher premier on some of the intangibles especially the type of will we are seeing being fostered right now with Gase. Big plays, timely plays, non-stop play and winning. I think talent across the league is pretty close to equal in most cases but its a team playing as a team focused that makes the difference. Right now the only team that can beat Miami is Miami, so they better get the penalties and muffed kicks down. Can’t have that shit.

I guess it means we could lose every week regardless of the opponent. That’s kind of true for every team in the league though. I’m not ready to buy into the playoff talk quite yet. I don’t trust our secondary to stop anyone. The front 7 play has definitely improved. Tackles are doing a nice job containing inside runs and the coaches seem to have figured out Wake needs to play more. Our LBs aren’t great in run support, but seem to be pretty good in pass defense and on third downs. We need to keep getting pressure on the QBs quickly if the defense is going to get off the field.

I love what we are doing on offense. Worry about our OL breaking down. Tannehill seems to be making good reads and adjustments. He still lacks much pocket awareness, but I’m happy with the way he’s playing. Need our WRs to get healthy.

I guess I’m most optimistic about our coaching staff. Really like what I’m seeing from Gase and his coordinators. Tannenbaum still scares me.

We can definitely lose any week, no question, but to me, the definition of a trap game is when you overlook an opponent, because a more important game looms the following week, or you’re just so superior to that team , you take them lightly. I don’t think any of those circumstances apply to us the rest of the season.

Isn’t it possible the team was playing like crap in the beginning, but now is playing much better? I think that’s pretty much what happened, although i thought they played OK against SEA in their house. I think it’s just calling it as you see it. Seems fair to me.

MikeE,
Absolutely. Feel great about the wins…enjoy the team’s success. All I was saying is that I’m not judging this team on the last four weeks any more than I did the first 5 and make any grand statements about what they are or aren’t. I’ll just wait and see what they are by the end of the year. That doesn’t mean I enjoy the winning any less. 😊

Isn’t it possible the team was playing like crap in the beginning, but now is playing much better? I think that’s pretty much what happened, although i thought they played OK against SEA in their house. I think it’s just calling it as you see it. Seems fair to me.
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We were a dropped perfectly thrown pass for a TD away for “kicking Seattle’s ass” the first game of the year. We played them very well in an environment that few teams can go into and win.

Even if thought that image looked shopped, guess the real answer is when you catch her…..so who knows?

Scarlett Johansson’s breast size has been through a lot! She got a boob job early in her career, then got breast reduction to decrease her bra size by nearly 2 cups. Her old breast size was listed at a 34D, but now it’s merely a 34B. Women hit a certain point in their lives where their breasts simply aren’t as important to them as they used to be. It’s possible that her priorities have simply changed. She could have also been suffering from back, shoulder, or neck pain (this is a common reason why women get breast reduction).

RE: The Rams game. –Everything starts from the running game. If Ajayi is reasonably heathy and runs for, say, 125 or so, Miami will be able to control the clock and limit LA’s time of possession. If the Fins have a sizable advantage of ball control (say 37 minutes to 23 minutes) I REALLY LIKE OUR CHANCES TO WIN. Conversely, if the Rams stuff our ground game, it will be up to Tannehill and our receivers to pull this one out. Don’t be surprised if we see a little more of Williams and a little less of Ajayi, especially with Brandon Albert being out for this one. A couple of swing passes to Drake wouldn’t hurt my feelings, either.

Drake is the same as Reggie Bush when Reggie got in the league, The swing plays to Drake have a good chance at being big hitters. Drake is a nice change up for us to a defense. But Williams is being very productive for us now on limited snaps. Lots of options, it’s good.

I agree OD, but I will point out that last week we only ran for a first down 5 times and by the pass 11 times. I think if we have to win by passing we can do it. We have to keep TRYING to run, but we can beat them with the pass.

I do know that at the D&B Meet and greet there was a group of people that “wanted to be the pirate” and dressed the part. Mike E was cracking us up by telling them with his accent ” But I don’t want to wear the Puffy Shirt ” the looks on their faces was priceless .

It’s nice to see a guy we’ve stuck with start paying off. I’m sick of seeing guys we either drafted or were UDFA start here get cut and latch on elsewhere.
Perfect example is the other Safety in Seattle Kelcie McCray he was here and Philbin proclaimed love for him then cut him. “He looks like a football player”, whatever that means. Hey Philbin, those are the ones you keep.

My “fair enough” to Randy was in reference to his comments that there was a direct correlation between RT’s emergence and the blosoming of the OL and running game. I believe RT to be a franchise QB with the potential to be top 5. I think the team is improving as they become more comfortable with the new systems on both sides of the ball. SEA they played really well. The PIT and BUF games were not really even close – MIA kicked their asses. JETS game was uneven. MIA didn’t play particularly well. I thought SAN was the the most complete game they have played yet, despite the penalties. Without those, the game is not even close.

You can’t gauge any team until at least week 6. I think they have a shot at the conference. At the very least they will make the playoffs as a wild card.

So albert has played in 4 or 5 games this year and now he might be going on IR? I think his time at phins might be done. You can’t count on him to play half the season let alone a full season. Move tunsil to LT and start thinking about getting a some guards in here in 2017.